Reagan (2024 film)

Reagan is an upcoming American biographical drama film directed by Sean McNamara and written by Howard Klausner and Jonas McCord, based on the 2006 book by Paul Kengor The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism. The film stars Dennis Quaid as Ronald Reagan. Penelope Ann Miller, Robert Davi, Lesley-Anne Down and Jon Voight feature in supporting roles.

Principal photography on the film began on September 9, 2020, and included locations such as Guthrie, Oklahoma.

Reagan is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on August 30, 2024.

Premise
The film follows Ronald Reagan's life from his childhood to his years as president of the United States, told by Viktor Ivanov, a former KGB agent.

Production
In 2010, it was announced producer Mark Joseph would be producing a feature film biopic of Ronald Reagan with Joseph having been inspired to take on such a project after reacting to the miniseries The Reagans with distaste. Screenwriter Jonas McCord had initially been uninterested in the project, but changed his mind after deciding that Reagan's childhood and formative years were dramatically rich.

Klausner and McCord wrote the script based on a book by Paul Kengor: The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism. Kengor described the script's development as faithful to both his books and history.

In 2012, Jon Voight was in discussions to portray Viktor Petrovich, whom Kengor said "is actually a character based on a number of KGB agents and Soviet analysts who we now know were tasked with keeping tabs on Ronald Reagan for many years".

In August 2016, it was reported Sean McNamara, who had worked as a sound engineer at the age of 18 during filming of Reagan's inauguration ceremony in 1981, had signed on to direct. John G. Avildsen had been in negotiations to direct prior to his death. Penelope Ann Miller who plays Nancy Reagan in the film described Reagan as being a Rocky like love story where the primary focus would be on the romance between Ronald and Nancy.

Joseph had trouble securing financing for the film with several deals made before production actually started, only for the money to never actually come through. This led to Joseph turning to outside independent financing which made up the film's $25 million budget.

Principal photography began on September 9, 2020. Filming locations included Guthrie, Oklahoma. It was announced on October 22, 2020, that filming had shut down after several crew members tested positive for COVID-19 in the midst of the ongoing pandemic. Filming resumed on November 5, 2020.

Release
The film was originally due to be released in 2021 but was then delayed to a then-unknown date. In March 2024, it was announced ShowBiz Direct would distribute the film and that it would be released in theaters on August 30, 2024. The first trailer was released on May 24, 2024.